Sophie Ecclestone scored two for 13 from her three overs. Photo: AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade England beat India by four wickets
England did the heavy lifting over a low target in Mumbai but managed to beat India by four wickets to win the Twenty20 series.
Ball dominated the bat all night at the Wankhede Stadium and the large weekend crowd fell silent as their Team India were bowled out for just 80 in 16.2 overs.
But England fell from 61 for two with victory in sight to 73 for six as pacer Deepti Sharma gave India a glimmer of hope by taking two wickets for two. balls.
England held on, captain Heather Knight and Sophie Ecclestone pulling them over the line and winning with 52 balls to spare. The final T20 match is on Sunday and a clean sweep will give England a huge boost of confidence ahead of next week's Test match, especially given the form of their spinners. Ecclestone, back after a long layoff, is a vital part of England's attack and looks strong: she took three wickets in her return in the first match, two here, plus a brilliant catch from her bowling.
“It didn't go to plan in the end, but the important thing is we got over the line and secured the series,” said Alice Capsey, who finished as England's top scorer with 25 from 21 balls. “We still haven't played perfect cricket. and that's great.”
The power of Alice Capsey's strike set England up for victory. Photo: Getty Images/Pankaj Nangia
England's three spinners – Charlie Dean, Ecclestone and Sarah Glenn – shared six for 42 as they judged the conditions to perfection, mixing pace and length against the faltering Indian batters. The seamers supported them well with all six England bowlers taking wickets.
India never recovered from losing two early wickets to spinner Dean, who missed the first game with a stomach ailment but found it. line and length immediately with the new ball, striking in the first and third overs. She pinned both India openers, Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana, leg early, both misjudged the length and played back.
England tightened their grip when Harmanpreet Kaur became the third wicket, playing against a straight ball from Nat Sciver-Brant.
Dipti took the ball from Lauren Bell and Ecclestone caught her diving with one hand. walked out to catch and bowl Richa Ghosh as India slumped to 34 for five.
India simply could not forge a partnership, and with its experienced leader failing, it was only a matter of time for England to do so. Jemima Rodriguez top-scored 30 from 33, but even though she seemed to make a difference by hitting Glenn for four in a row, she was one step ahead of the direct ball.
It was third-best India's highest T20 record, and it would have been worse had England not dropped a catch and appealed for a plumb tackle against Titas Sadhu.
India conceded eight balls in the first over, but on the night of Sofia's poor batting Dunklee was flummoxed as she tried to black the ball over extra cover. Dannii Wyatt, who previously bought her first Women's Premier League gig at auction for £30,000, was batted out for a duck.
Capsey and Skiver-Brant looked to be taking England home with a stand of 42 runs for the third wicket, the highest of the night. Skiver-Brant hit the ground just six times in the game, but got tangled up on her leg and was knocked down. Capsey was caught athletically at cover by half-back AB Kaur, and when Sharma took two from two, removing Amy Jones caught a reverse sweep and Freya Kemp lbw, England were reeling.
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